Wednesday, September 24, 2014

The Power of Pot

One of the "selling points" that proponents of legalized, recreational marijuana use like to trumpet is that it "isn't addictive like harder drugs"--usually meaning cocaine or heroin. Well if it isn't addictive, please explain to me the life choices people are making just so that they can continue to get high.

Cleveland Browns wide receiver Josh Gordon is currently on the sidelines for the first ten games of the season because he violated the NFL Substance Abuse policy for about the fifth time. The suspension was handed down after Gordon tested positive for marijuana use--again. It will cost him $800,000 in salary and the stats his agent could use to parlay his next contract into a major payday (Gordon led the league in receiving in 2013). All of that down the drain just to smoke pot.

At least Gordon still wants to try and balance his career with his desire to get baked. Heisman Trophy winner and former NFL player Ricky Williams flat out walked away from the sport (and a huge contract) because he too wanted to smoke pot--without fear of drug testing. He tried to comeback a year later--but by that time, teams and coaches had to wonder about his level of commitment.

Guys I play basketball and golf with work in several fields of industry and they tell me all the time that one of the biggest hurdles they face in filling available positions is that so many people can't pass simple drug tests--usually coming up positive for pot. And these are applicants who are warned that they will be peeing in a cup--and what day said testing will take place--and they still can't lay off the joints long enough to land a steady job.

And our latest example comes from an Alaska TV station last week, where reporter Charlo Green first outed herself as the owner of a medicinal marijuana business and then quit her job on the air by saying "eff it" and walking off. Her reason for this incredibly unprofessional and juvenile stunt? She wants to commit herself to the legalized use of weed. I'm sure her act of stupidity will rally many pot-heads to her cause--but as for those who aren't under the magical spell the magic herb will see it for what it is--yet another example of the power pot has over its clueless users.